1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to voting systems and, more particularly, to an integrated voting system and method for accommodating paper ballots and audio ballots.
2. Description of Related Art
A variety of different types of voting equipment are used in the United States and throughout the world. In many jurisdictions, a voter receives a traditional paper ballot on which is printed the various races to be voted on. The voter votes by darkening or otherwise marking the appropriate mark spaces on the paper ballot. The marked paper ballot may then be dropped in a ballot box, whereby the ballot is transferred to a centralized location for tabulation by a central ballot counter. Alternatively, many jurisdictions provide a precinct ballot counter at the polling place in order to expedite the tabulation of votes.
In jurisdictions that use traditional paper ballots, an electronic ballot marking device may be provided for use by voters who are blind, vision-impaired, or have a disability or condition that would make it difficult or impossible to manually mark a paper ballot in the usual way. In operation, a voter receives a paper ballot from a poll worker and takes the paper ballot to the ballot marking device. The voter inserts the paper ballot into the device, whereby the paper ballot is scanned and the various races to be voted on are presented to the voter either visually on a touch screen display or audibly via headphones. The voter then selects his/her votes using one of several different types of input devices (e.g., a touch screen display, Braille-embossed keys, etc.). Once the voter confirms that the selected votes are correct, a printer marks the paper ballot by printing marks in the appropriate mark spaces on the paper ballot. The voter or a poll worker then drops the marked paper ballot in a ballot box for tabulation by a central ballot counter or, if available, inserts the marked paper ballot into a precinct ballot counter.
In recent years, many jurisdictions have turned to electronic voting machines (such as direct recording electronic (DRE) voting machines) in lieu of traditional paper ballots. Typically, an electronic voting machine includes a touch screen display for displaying the various races to be voted on and allowing the “touch” selection of votes. Once the voter confirms that the selected votes are correct, the voting selections are recorded in the memory of the voting machine and electronically tabulated with the voting selections of other voters. The electronic voting machine may also include an audio ballot function for use by voters who are blind or vision-impaired.
One issue that has been raised with respect to electronic voting machines is that there is no paper record of the voter's selection of votes. As such, many voters are skeptical of the integrity of the election process and believe that their electronic votes may not be counted correctly. In an attempt to resolve this issue, many jurisdictions require that the electronic voting machine provide a voter-verifiable paper record of votes cast on the voting machine. For example, the paper record may comprise a plurality of voting records each of which corresponds to a voting session of a voter. Each voter is able to review his/her voting record and verify that the electronic votes have been recorded and tabulated correctly. The paper record can then be compared to the electronic records and vote tallies of the voting machine for auditing purposes.